LACTIC ACID, WHAT IS IT, WHAT DOES IT DO, IS IT BAD?

October 8, 2018 at 10:35 am,

Have you ever hear of lactic acid build up?

During an intense exercise, like HIIT or lifting heavy weights, your body requires more energy than normal to keep the muscles functioning. In this case, the body metabolizes glucose to deliver energy to the muscles.

The metabolized glucose, called pyruvate, is converted into lactate. When lactate accumulates at high levels in the blood and muscles, it creates acidity called lactic acidosis, which can cause muscle fatigue and at high levels can interfere with muscle recovery. The accumulation of lactic acid can cause burning sensations during your workout.

Severe Symptoms of lactic acid buildup

While the most common symptom of lactic acid buildup is fatigue and a feeling of being tired, there are a few severe symptoms that can occur as a result of lactic acidosis, but is uncommon in most cases.

Consult your doctor if you experience two or more of the following symptoms:

General weakness

Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes

Experiencing shallow or rapid breathing

Fast heartbeat

Muscle cramps

Abdominal pain and discomfort

Headaches

Appetite problems

Diarrhea, nausea, and/or vomiting

Preventing lactic acid build up

Drink more and more water!

Drink at least 12 glasses of water daily if you want to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Breathe deeply during your workout and try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Work out regularly!

According to researches, a physically fit person has a higher lactate threshold, a measure of blood vessel and heart fitness.

Working out several times a week is a must but giving your muscles rest for a day or two is a must.

Accelerate your workout slowly!

Make sure to stay challenged, but don’t increase intensity too fast or all at once.

Add weight, repetitions, minutes or miles gradually over a set period of time to maintain healthy levels of lactic acid.

Listen to your body no when to stop!

Be extremely cautious when lifting weights as this activity causes more lactic acid buildup.

Increase your weightlifting period gradually by keeping in considerations the weights and repetitions.

Stretch after intense workout!

Lactic acid can take around 30 minutes to an hour to disperse post-workout, so make sure to cool down appropriately and stretch right after.

It is even recommended by various sports medicine experts to stretch after a prolonged workout to reduce the buildup of lactic acid.

Use a foam roller to massage the muscles!

You can massage your muscles with a foam roller before an intense workout.

using a foam roller on your muscles can be done regularly also for recovery.

Vegetables such as Spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, navy beans, kidney beans and seeds such as pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds are great sources of magnesium.

Experiencing normal fatigue shouldn’t be anything to worry about. It just takes a good sleep or a few hours rest to get rid of fatigue. However, too much lactic acid can cause lactic acidosis which needs to be taken care of.

A little more in depth of the preventions from above:

Drink water or an electrolyte-replacement drink, which can play a vital role in preventing buildup of water-soluble lactic acid. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty. By then, you’re likely already dehydrated. The American Council on Exercise recommends hydrating with 16 to 20 ounces of water two to three hours before a workout and then 7 to 10 additional ounces of water for every 20 to 30 minutes of exercise.

Maintaining consistent activity. If you want to be physically fit, you need to exercise frequently. This will make your body adaptive to additional energy production and you will require less glucose to burn for energy, which eventually means less lactic acid buildup.

Excessive workout every day without any routine or cycle can cause severe muscle soreness. Hiring a fitness and nutrition coach can help if you are unsure of what program you should be on.

As you start to feel your muscles burn or you struggle to breathe, slow down until you catch your breath, so your body can deliver more oxygen to the muscles.

Using a foam roller on your muscles loosens tight muscles and reduces the buildup of lactic acid as this act stimulates blood flow and encourages lymphatic drainage.

Including certain foods into your daily diet can help control lactic acid buildup to avoid lactic acidosis. As per what the experts say, foods and vegetables with magnesium, fatty acids, and B vitamins are recommended.

It is not easy to avoid lactic acid buildup when you have an intense workout routine, but you can surely reduce it to minimize the consequences and risks associated with it.

MYTH ABOUT LACTIC ACID

"LACTIC ACID CAUSES MUSCLE SORENESS" Lactate actually clears out of your system 30-minutes to one-hour after working out and the majority is recycled and turned into energy. Delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMs) is actually the result of microtrauma in the muscles and connective tissues, causing inflammation. Most exercise can induce some sort of soreness but exercise with a greater emphasis on the lengthening or stretching phase plays the most significant role in how sore you get the day or two after a hard workout.

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